Fear and Loathing at Ever After High
by Thracian
Summary: Tension builds between the Royals and Rebels as rumors spread of a powerful artifact lost somewhere within the walls of Ever After High, an artifact with the power to compel students to follow their destiny. Pressure rises, tempers flare, and hard questions are asked as both sides race to recover this ancient device. In these troubling times, fear and loathing rule the school.
1. Prologue

The Headmaster had promised himself never to return here. He had sworn that when he had last walked out, it would be the final time. He had thought he had left this part of his life behind forever.

His story had a sickening habit of proving him wrong.

So it was that Milton Grimm breathed deeply and stepped into the Vault of Lost Tales. The towering shelves seemed to hum with some long-forgotten energy, coalescing into almost-whispers in the back of his mind. He shook his head and kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.

He tapped out a quick rhythm on the office door, one he had tried so hard to erase from his memory. Immediately a blue mist snaked out and took hold of him, snapping him through the door and into the chamber beyond.

The cave-like hovel hadn't changed. Books and candles and instruments of science were strewn about at random, while obscure and bizarre paintings and portraits clung to the dirt-colored walls, some of them upside-down. Milton shook his head. He hated this place.

A gleam at the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was another book, massive and so black it shone, resting on an overturned table. Against his better judgment, he lifted it and opened to the first page.

_Diamonds of the Day: The Lost Dangers of Ever After_, read the title inscribed within.

"Does the turning coat hear the same song?"

Milton whirled. His brother stood behind him, his glasses askew and beard uncombed. That absurd burgundy overcoat still clung to his figure, draping over his gaunt frame as if he were a wizened, discolored bat. He seemed even more haggard than the last time the two had met, if that was possible.

"You know it's gone, then?"

"A scurrying mouse hears many things, and smells what's waiting in the wings."

Milton took a deep breath, struggling to keep his composure. Being here was bad enough. Riddlish threatened to push him over the edge.

"Did you take it, brother?"

Giles smiled. "A mouse's paws may be so quick-"

That was it. Milton seized his brother by the collar, lifted him, and slammed him against the chamber's wall. He shouted into his face from an inch away. "_Did you take it?_"

Fear flashed in Giles' eyes. He kicked feebly at Milton's legs, then started to cough and choke. Milton shook him.

"Where," he hissed, his jaw trembling with rage, "is it?"

Giles's mouth moved, but no words came forth. Milton threw him to the floor, where he shook and gasped for air. Milton straightened his necktie, then knelt beside him.

"Brother, I have had reason to keep you in my castle for so long, blabbering away among your precious tales," he said in a low voice. "But at the moment such reason seems to escape me, and I find myself wondering if I really need you here after all."

He clamped a hand on Giles' quivering neck.

"Perhaps there really isn't a place for you here anymore," he whispered, leaning in close, his breath hot on Giles' face. "Perhaps your story is about to come to-"

"No!" Giles shouted. His panic seemingly broke through the curse that bound his tongue. "No, brother, please, please, I didn't take it, I don't know where it is, I didn't take it, please, don't hurt me, please-"

Milton's grip tightened. "Then where is it?"

"I don't know." Giles shook his head emphatically. Sweat plastered his tousled hair to his forehead. "All I know is that it's gone, I saw the chamber empty a week past-"

"And told me nothing?" Again the grip grew stronger. Giles began to wheeze. "You know what it could do in the wrong hands. In any hands." He tilted his wrist, craning Giles' neck backwards.

"I, I…"

Milton released him and stood. Again Giles gasped, and again Milton straightened his necktie. Then he simply stared, his gaze fixed on one of the chamber's many candles, as if he sought answers in the flame. For a long time they stayed like that, Milton staring and Giles struggling to regain his breath.

Giles had been with Milton for his entire life. Once, he had been as much a part of him as he himself was. They had been inseparable, best friends as well as brothers. They had founded Ever After High together, weathering the skepticism, the doubt, the opposition to an institutionalized happily ever after. They had realized their dream. They had taught beside one another and educated the future of Ever After together again and again and again. It was perfect.

And then they had been torn apart. Giles became dangerous, embracing and promoting ideas that jeopardized all they had built and the very fabric of Ever After itself. So Milton took action. He laid a curse upon his brother's speech and hid him away in the bowels of the school, where his divisive way of thinking could do no harm. But Giles was a crafty one, and even here, all alone, he had repeatedly reached out to sow discord within the castle. Every time a student spoke out, questioned the order of the world, questioned their destiny, Milton had traced it back to some clever prompt from Giles. Even Raven Queen had come to see him before her unprecedented defiance on Legacy Day.

All that Milton had been able to stomach for the sake of the past. But this… this was something else. His brother's failure to inform him of the disappearance of this thing, this most potent, most powerful, most absolutely crucial weapon, was something he could never have imagined. Giles understood what it was capable of. To be willing to see it let loose, where anyone might use it, proved that he was truly desperate and truly dangerous.

Leadership required sacrifices. Milton had learned this at an early age, and he had never before shied away from it. He would not now. The future of Ever After depended on him.

"You've gone too far, brother," he said quietly.

Giles heard it in his voice. He scrambled to his feet, trying to run, but Milton seized his collar and spun him around.

"You leave me no choice." He gripped Giles' jaw and snapped it to the right. There was a scream and an audible crack. Giles dropped to the floor.

Milton stood over him for a long moment.

It was something that perhaps he should have done long ago, before the flames of Raven Queen's little rebellion could be fanned, but it was too late for that now. The past was the past. What mattered was the future, and if Milton Grimm wasn't careful, that future could become very messy very fast.

He straightened his necktie. Then he turned and left the Vault.


	2. The Ties That Find

"This has been just lovely, Daring," Lizzie Hearts sighed, lying back on the picnic blanket and folding her arms behind her head. Sunlight shone down through the bright Wonderlandian trees that twisted and tangled over the little clearing, the beams falling gently across her face. "I never knew you liked this kind of thing."

In truth, secret picnics had never really been Daring Charming's style. He'd never had a use for them. After all, what girl wouldn't want everyone to know that she was lunching with the hottest guy in Ever After? Most of his dates had trouble resisting the urge to snap photos and post them on the MirrorNet. Some asked for autographs, a few of whom he tried to let down as gently as possible while explaining that he did not sign body parts. One had actually pulled out a catalogue and asked him which ring he preferred. He didn't call her afterwards.

But Lizzie Hearts was like no girl Daring had ever dated, and the process was like no other as well. Secret rendezvous, after-curfew walks, stolen kisses in empty hallways; on these they built their courtship. Now picnicking joined the list.

"Well, I had a little help putting it together," Daring admitted, lying on his side next to Lizzie and propping his head up with an arm.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I asked Hunter for some tips. He's pretty good at these."

Lizzie frowned. "You told him you were going on a secret date?"

Daring chuckled. "I didn't realize it until I'd already asked him." At Lizzie's widening eyes he added quickly, "So I made something up. I said I had a date with a girl really shy girl who didn't like crowds." He reached out and took her hand. "Don't worry, Lizzie."

"I'm sorry," she said, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I know you're doing your best." She smiled at him. "So what did Hunter tell you?"

"To be quiet and watch out for swans."

"Well, then," Lizzie laughed, "if we see any swans…" She trailed off, making a slashing motion with her index finger.

In truth, Hunter had told Daring much more than that. According to him, the key to any successful picnic was to make it all about the girl. With this in mind, Daring had picked out a blood-red blanket (Lizzie's favorite color), packed heart-shaped wonderfluff sandwiches (Lizzie's favorite snack), and set up in a secluded corner of Wonderland Grove (Lizzie's favorite place). The look of joy on her face as she took it all in proved Hunter right.

From there everything went off smoothly. The blanket was comfortable, the sandwiches were delicious, and their little spot remained far out of anyone's way. It was a perfect picnic.

Lizzie certainly seemed to think so. "Can we do this again sometime?"

"Of course," Daring replied, running a hand lightly through her hair. She took it and pressed it to her cheek.

"Thank you so much for putting this all together," she said. "How can I ever repay you?"

Daring smiled. "I think I know how you can start."

"Oh, really?" Lizzie grinned back at him and leaned in.

Their lips were millimeters apart when a voice raised in song rang out through the forest, accompanied by a chorus of birds. They jumped apart, heads whirling as they searched for the source of those oh-so-familiar silky tones.

"Where is she?" Lizzie whispered. Her eyes were wide.

Daring thought he had heard her somewhere to his left. "I'll talk to her. You clean up and get out of here," he whispered back.

Lizzie nodded and began tossing sandwiches into their basket. Daring set off after the voice, which had become audible once again and was coming closer. He cut straight through the shrubbery, swatting away the thorns that reached for his pristine jacket. Just a dozen feet from the clearing's edge he found its source strolling along one of the Grove's many snaking paths.

"Daring!" Apple White exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just, uh… sparring," he spluttered. "With the… trees."

"The trees?" Apple's eyebrows were higher than a kite.

"Yeah, these Wonderland trees are vicious." Daring tried to flash his smile. It came out more like a grimace. A very white, very shiny grimace.

Apple cocked her head to one side. "But you don't have a sword."

"It, uh, was just hand-to-branch training today." Daring had the feeling that the conversation was going downhill.

"So you spent your day punching a tree?" Apple's expression was unreadable.

"Yes."

"Did you win?"

"No."

"You lost."

"Yes."

"To a tree."

Daring sighed. "Yes, Apple. To a tree. Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure," she said, brushing a blonde lock behind her ear. "Actually, I've been meaning to have a little chat with my Prince Charming." She grabbed his hand and started off down the path.

"Where are we going?" Daring asked, looking hurriedly around and fervently hoping that Lizzie had left the clearing in the other direction.

"Oh, just to a little place I've found on my walks. I don't want anyone interrupting us."

"I know the feeling," Daring muttered.

"What was that?" Apple asked brightly.

Daring forced a smile. "Nothing."

A brisk walk and an elevator ride later, Apple was pulling him down a narrow basement hallway. The lights flickered, some of them completely burned out, while dark, peeling paint adorned the claustrophobic walls.

"You walk here?" he asked, more than a little surprised. Apple's spotless red-and-white dress certainly did not lend itself to such ventures.

"Of course! A princess has to know her castle!" She came to a door and stopped, looking expectantly at Daring.

He stopped too. She kept looking at him.

"Um… what are we doing here?"

"The door, Daring," she said patiently.

"What?"

"A prince should always open the door for his princess."

There was a moment of silence between them as that sunk in.

"Oh, right. Of course," Daring said. He grabbed the knob and pulled it. Apple smiled at him and went in. He followed, closing the door behind them.

They were in a small closet, just a few feet across and completely empty. A single light swung slowly on a chain from the low ceiling, dimly illuminating the grey stone walls and cobwebs below.

"I think this place would be just perfect for Raven, don't you?" Apple asked.

"Sure," Daring said. "Why are we here again?"

"To talk," Apple said, and her voice fell from its usual airiness. "I want to tell you something."

"What?"

She took a deep breath and looked straight into his eyes. "I think that it's time for us to start dating."

The words hit Daring like a physical blow. He might have stumbled, were it not for the fact that he had no room to move. Instead he pressed his hands very hard against the wall behind him and drew in a long breath as his mind raced.

He knew that he should have seen this coming. He should have expected Apple to one day want to start their predestined courtship. It was quite literally bound to happen. He just hadn't wanted to think about it. He hadn't wanted to think about the fact that what he and Lizzie had couldn't last, not if he wanted to follow his destiny.

For the first time in his life, Daring Charming was at a loss for words. What could he say? "I'm sorry, Apple, but I'd like to date the Princess of Hearts until I marry you,"? Or perhaps, "I'd love to date you, but I'm just too busy fighting trees." Or maybe, best of all, "Couldn't you just date my brother? He's a Prince Charming too, you know." Yes, he could say any of those things and then drown as Apple's tears filled the closet.

But he couldn't just go along with it either. He couldn't give Lizzie up now. A Prince did not do such things to a lady, even if the two of them were destined to be apart. Leaving her now would be unacceptable.

He was caught between a rock and a very, very hard place. He also remained caught between Apple and a wall that he simply could not melt through, despite his best efforts.

"Well?" Apple looked up at him, moving closer and taking his hands. Her azure eyes stared into his own, full of expectation. "What do you think?"

"I… well, Apple, there's just, uh, well…" He slipped a hand loose from hers and ran it through his hair.

"There's what?" Apple asked. Her expression remained fixed on her face.

"There's, well, there's… things." His mind was screaming for an excuse, any excuse, but nothing came. His tongue simply failed him. It was as if he had turned into Hopper.

"What things?" Apple's face still hadn't changed.

Daring ran a hand through his hair again. His palm was sweating profusely. "There are… trees." He again experienced the sensation of a conversation heading downhill, this time at the speed of Cerise Hood on Hextasy.

"Trees?"

"Yeah, trees. And… um, destiny." Daring really didn't see a way out of this chariot wreck.

"Whatever after are you talking about?" Apple giggled. "I think you've been spending too much time in the Grove."

He seized the opportunity like Ashlynn Ella grabbing Ever After's last pair of shoes. "That's it! I must be going a little crazy. I'll go lie down and we can talk about this in a few years or something." He grabbed the doorknob, but Apple put a hand on his wrist.

"I was just teasing, silly," she said softly. "And I'd really like to talk about this now."

Daring sighed and let go of the knob. He wasn't going to get out of this one. He leaned a hand against the closet's back wall.

"All right, Apple. Let's-" The stone beneath his hand gave way, throwing him off balance. He fell to his knees.

He saw Apple shout something, but he couldn't hear it over the sudden grinding noise that filled his ears. Stone scraped against stone as the closet's back wall swung slowly apart, finally slamming to a halt with a resounding crash.

Daring and Apple both gaped at what they saw. Where the wall had been was now a large, well-lit chamber, richly ornamented with tapestries and golden torches and wide chandeliers hanging down from the high ceiling. Bookcases of the finest woods lined the walls, filled with tomes and scrolls of every shape and size. Beautiful red carpets with golden fringes covered the floor, and upon them stood armchairs and couches of the same pattern and tables of equally lovely craftsmanship. A fire roared along the far wall, leaving the chamber's pleasant warmth a stark contrast to the dank corridor outside.

In the room's center rose a single golden pillar, supporting a crystal case. The pillar was intricately carved, covered with twisting designs that ran its entire length.

Daring got to his feet. Slowly, gingerly, the two of them stepped into the room and examined the pillar. Halfway up they could make out an inch-high Prince Charming leaning over a sleeping Snow White, the blush of her cheeks represented by miniscule rubies laid into the gold. Above them a Cinderella fitted a glass slipper, and below a Rapunzel was rescued from her tower. There were other scenes, some familiar, some not, and each seemed to shimmer and come alive before their eyes.

"It's _beautiful," _Apple breathed, slowly running her fingers over the little sleeping form that would one day be her own.

Daring nodded. He was about to kneel down and have a closer look himself when something within the case caught his eye. Stepping closer, he saw that it was empty, with an inscription, carved into the gold in a delicate, curving hand, covering the bottom. He squinted to make it out and read:

_The Tome of Destiny_

"_And what is loosed herein shall be loosed upon the world,_

_And what is sealed herein shall be sealed within the world,_

_And none shall withstand that Destiny which hath been loosed or sealed herein."_

"Apple, look at this." Daring tapped her shoulder. She stood and read the inscription. Then she frowned.

"What's the Tome of Destiny?"

Daring shook his head. "No idea." He read the words again. "But it sounds serious."

"I think anything someone would want to hide this deep in the castle is serious, Daring."

He dropped onto one of the couches and laughed. "What in Ever After is this place, anyway?"

Apple glanced around the room. "It reminds me of my father's private library."

"Mine too."

"Is that hidden behind a closet in the palace basement?"

Daring smiled. "No, shockingly enough, it isn't."

"Neither is my father's," Apple said, gracefully taking her place next to him on the couch. "Whatever after's down here has to be important."

"Or whatever after isn't down here. There's nothing in that case."

"I suppose not," she said.

"This could be something big."

They were quiet for a long moment after that. Daring surveyed the room, taking everything in again. It certainly was a strange place to keep hidden so deep within the castle. Even the Storybook of Legends, the most important, most absolutely vital object in all of Ever After, was displayed openly in Headmaster Grimm's office. What could be so valuable that it had to be so carefully concealed?

Perhaps it was this Tome of Destiny. Perhaps it was something greater than the Storybook. Perhaps it was too precious to even allow knowledge of its existence beyond the castle. Perhaps-

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by Apple resting her head on his shoulder. A few blond curls fell across his chest. She looked up into his eyes and placed a hand lightly on his cheek.

"So, where should our first date be?"


	3. A Note on the Text

I'd like to let anyone who's enjoyed these first chapters know that, in light of the events of Thronecoming, I'll be restarting this story to fit in with what's currently canon. Thronecoming delved into some issues that I was hoping to cover and also opened up some new possibilities, and I think that the story I want to tell will be better served by beginning post-Thronecoming. I'll keep this story up until I publish the first chapter of the new version. The title, description, and overarching will remain the same, and the same themes will be explored, so if you like what you've seen so far, don't worry. I'd encourage you to follow me so you know when the new story goes live. I'd also like to apologize for the long delay between chapters so far. I've just begun my studies in college and it's been a very busy time. As I get a handle on things I hope to cut down on the time it takes me to produce.


End file.
